King and Lionheart
by MageOfFandoms
Summary: A Kingdom. A forest. A prince. A girl. A boy. A pirate. A criminal overlord. A king and a lion heart. It was a clear day when the world began it's dissent into hell. But what is life without chaos?
1. Chapter 1

It was a clear day when the world went to heel. Or at least as clear as the day got over the Imperial city. The capital was a maze, with streets of pure white stone in the richer areas, to the smog filled air above the wharfs by the sea of Menes the first. To the west of the city lay fertile land where farms grew, almost up to the Smaragd forest, and the mountains beyond. However no farmer was willing to risk his crop by claiming the land by the forest. It was said that strange things happened there, strange things out of fairy-tales. It was a fact that everyone knew someone who had wandered into the forest, never to be seen again. It was the place accused witches fled, strange cattle eating beast reared their head, and small children were turned into cabbages. But most importantly to the people of the Saphir city, it was the bane of King Belwshmit.

"I made myself clear, did I not General?"

The king addressed the trembling man front of him. The ruler of the greatest empire sat in his throne room. It wall a high ceilinged hall, with large gothic stained windows, situated in the center of the great palace that rose out of the middle of the city. He was an imposing man, tall with ice blue eyes and braids in his hair. He wore a large fur robe and sat upon a high stone chair on a platform several steps up from the floor where the other man cowered.

"Y-you did overlord." The man said with a slight quiver of voice. The king raised an eye.

"The why are my orders not being carried out, General?"

"T-the-"

"Do. Not. Stutter."

"The forest sire, the men refuse to enter it…"

"They did not seem to have trouble chasing the enemy thus far. Even so, you should be able to navigate by airship, should you not?"

Several weeks before, there had been a raid in one the military base, not ten miles from the great city. It had failed and most had seen it as nothing more than a minor in convince, as 'these thing happened sometimes'. The king however saw it as a challenge. He had chased the attacker across the county, until they made it to the forest.

"Sire, it's no ordinary forest…"

"And it has been no ordinary forest for that last five years. I am getting tired of moving battle plans, trade routes, and prisoners around it. NOW-"

It was just as the man began to raise his voice that the smaller brown haired man spoke up from beside him. He had laugh lines peppered around his face, and a dreamy smile on his face.

"Now, Gerhart stop, this is a joyous day! Two baby girls! Twins at that! Perfect for your boys! Do not spoil it!"

The white haired child spoke up from behind him, only to smacked by his brother.

"Ja Vati, I vant to see the babies! They are going to be awesome! Do you think they'll be cu-omf"

His brother was the picture of his father. His back was ramrod straight, his eyes bright and was already strong. He had sandy blonde hair, neatly combed back, and bright blue eyes and looked to be no more than seven. His brother who had spoken could not have been more different. He had a shock of white hair and bright red eyes. He was eight and his whole appearance was disheveled, from his bedhead, to his rumpled tunic. He was bent over at the knees. His brother was surprisingly strong. Gerhart, king and overlord simply sighed at his children's antics.

"Very well Romulus. Until tomorrow General. I expect some better news by then."

Meanwhile deep in the forest, the sound of wailing punctuated the tense but excited air of a clearing. It was a beautiful place, with trees as tall as mountains, as thick around as a horse, often times bigger. But the most remarkable thing about the clearing was the building. They seemed to grow right out of the trees, staircases spiraling gracefully up tree trunks, platforms wrapped sticking out. Buildings seemingly floating anywhere from thirty to a hundred feet above the green spongy earth, and hundreds of fairy lights decorating branches.

Here in the forest, two children were born. It had been a trying birth of twins, the first born as well. To add to the pressure, it was the leader's wife, Alice, who was giving birth. But with the first wails came a sigh that resounded throughout the forest. After hours of labor, one baby boy, who's head was bald and eyes were blue, and one baby girl with violet eyes and a tiny wisp of golden hair. As the two first time parents held their children close, and walked out to show them to their people, the forest sang. And those who listened very closely could hear a tiny sound, almost sounding like, Lionheart…


	2. Chapter 2

I often wondered just how on earth I got into these situations. That was just about the only thing that went through my head as I watched the giant spider rear up ready to strike. I tried to press myself back into the dirt, still wondering why I had let this happen.

The long and short of it was that I really couldn't say no to my brother. My twin, not the numerous younger ones. Alfred and I were the first borns, the ones in line for the kingdom. But we already had three younger siblings. First after us was Michelle. It was said that she was the spirit of the forest waters, always near some sort of stream or lake. My mother nearly had a heart attack when Michelle first found herself floating on the water. After that was Jett, who I was said could tame any animal at all. Then Peter, who still wasn't old enough to have claimed his power yet (though he was constantly bragging that it would be the best of all). Al tended to get stir-crazy when left alone with family. He and mom had been arguing lately, so he had been venturing out into the forest more often. And where ever he went, I fallowed.

"Come on Matt, you said, it's just a new path, you said!" I whisper yelled at him as the spider struck out at another log, quite near our hiding place. We were crouched under a narrow outcropping of stone.

"Hey, you were the one who agreed to it! You're supposed to stop me from doing stupid things!" He was joking, I couldn't help but smile. After all, he had done worse. There was the memorable time when we had ended up in a Roc's nest. Or had been stranded in the mermaid's castle for three days. That one had actually been pretty funny, but that was despite the point.

He and Mom had another agreement that morning about his, rather adventurous tendencies, that morning. She really just wanted him to be safe, but Al would have rather explored the forest. So as usual, he had come floating in my window and dragged me out into the forest. He had at first, claimed it only to be a walk, just to clear his head. Then he said he wanted to visit the mermaids again (they had been on good terms lately after Toris made Felix promise not kidnap and dress us up anymore). Not half way to their pond he had spotted a new trial and wanted to explore it.

It wasn't uncommon for new paths or parts of forest to appear out of nowhere. But I had a bad feeling about this one. I had objected strongly, then less strongly, and finally he had convinced me to walk down the very dark, very stick path, by promising to steal me more maple candy. I could have probably snuck down past Mom sometime, but I was running out fast, and I could never get past Dad. As much as I didn't like to admit it, Al was a much better thief than me. No one would have though it possible, after all I was the quiet one who people often forgot, and Alfred was often teased that he wouldn't be able to shut up for more than thirty seconds. Still he could be a ninja when food was involved.

By the time we had made it half down the new way, I realized what was wrong about this path. It hadn't simply appear, it had been made by something big. I told Al, but he was unconcerned. And that was how we came to be hunched under a small rock, covered in webs, and hoping that the giant thing wouldn't eat us both alive.

There was another nasty crunch, and we both winced in unison. If there was one thing in common, it was that we were both cowards. I backed further into the hole, Alfred just in front of me doing the same. The thing let out another shriek and little bits of earth rained down on us from above. I suddenly wasn't a big fan of going any deeper. However, we really did have much of a choice as large pincers and many black eyes became visible through the opening. There was a lot more room going downwards, but I wasn't sure what else could be down here. We were stock still hoping that it would move away, but when the creature roared again, but me and Al were on our hands and knees struggling downwards away from the beast. We were now being showered in dirt and rocks, and it stuck to the webs that surrounded us. There was a huge impact from above, and all light gone, obscured by rock that thundered down behind us. I reached a point where I could stand up, and grabbed Al's arm blindly running anywhere to be away from the rocks and the thing. Finally when everything was silent we stopped, panting.

"See Matt, I told you everything would be fine!" He sounded cheery. I looked for his face in the dark, and saw nothing. It was pitch black.

"Uh, Al, do you know where we are?"

"Nope."

"Do you have any idea how to get out of here?"

"Nope." Both our voices were beginning to sound a bit strained. I reached for his hand in the dark. "Don't worry Matt, you can lead us out right?"

"I don't know, find my way around the forest is one thing, but…"

"You have power over the earth, earth is all around us, how hard can it be! Right!" He was panicking. I was panicking.

"Your right!"

"Besides, I'm a hero, I'll protect you!"

We both knew that we were fibbing. It sucked being twins sometimes. Sometimes you just don't want to know when the other is lying. I tried to reach out, to look for the surface, to sense anything familiar. I thought I caught a glimpse of something, but it was hard to tell, I was far from a master of my power and I was scared, not to mention unfamiliar with the circumstances. In the end I just headed in the general direction of whatever I thought I sensed. We weren't walking long when Al began to start nervously talking.

"So, mom's going to be really mad huh, not to mention dad!"

"Yeah, mom's going to be furious…"

"Are you sure we are heading the right way?"

"I think so…"

"But you are sure right?"

"Not really, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay, you have an idea, we will be fine!"

"Yeah, fine! We've been through worse!"

"Yeah, like that time with elves!"

We kept walking and talking hoping to drive away the darkness that was creeping in and making us shake. At some points we had to drop to our knees, and at others we had to twist sideways and hope that it was wide enough to pass through. On the bright side, I was more certain of our direction, and were open spaces were. It was about ten minutes when we first began to see the light. It was soft, but not sunlight. I could just begin to make out Al, he was frowning in concentration, blue eyes trying to make out what was a head. Slowly as we moved forward, the light became brighter. Around us I began to see the rough rock passage we made our way through. It was pierced by veins of crystal in some places. It was beautiful. Suddenly Al dragged me around a corner, and on the other side was one of the beautiful things I had ever seen.

It was like a temple, with a huge celling, and stone statues almost as tall as the celling itself. There was old paint on the walls and statues, and though the place was only about fifty feet wide it seemed much larger. The whole room was circular, but was filled with what strongly resembled candle light. It came from a small place on the floor, where covered in ruble, there was a small sphere that was lighting up the whole room. What was more remarkable by far, was that its glow had begun to spread across into other rocks around. The rock piled up around it were all growing like yellow embers, some of the pillars already had vines of light growing up through them, as did the floor.

"Woah, what do you think It is?" Al said slowly walking towards it. I followed him.

"I don't know."

"Oh, it could be a crystal ball, like in the stories mom tells us!"

"Maybe it's a star! Papa says shooting stars are falling down to earth, maybe this is one of them!"

"Yeah, I like that! It's our own star!"

"We should take it back and show Papa!"

"Yeah, mom would love it!"

We were both standing in front of it, the light was blinding Al was shielding his eyes.

"So, are you going to pick it up?" I asked him.

"Aren't you?"

"No, I though you would want to."

"But you're the lady, papa always says to let ladies go first."

"But you the hero, you should have the glory of the treasure!" We looked at each other. Neither wanted to pick it up, we had our share of magical expertise, we both knew picking it up could mean big trouble.

"Hey, Matt, why don't we use your coat?" I looked down at my sheepskin coat. It would be perfect. Papa had made is special for me, but I was growing out of it anyways.

"Okay, fine, but we should do it together, just in case."

"Alright!"

I slid off my coat and threw it over the glowing rocks. The one in the center shone through the fabric.

"On three" Al began the count down.

"One" I said.

"Two," He answered.

"THREE!" We said together and picked up the rock. Nothing happened, our voices echoed back to us over and over again. Three, three, three…. I bundled up the rock and held it close to my chest. The place wasn't as light now, but the glowing rocks remained. I looked up, and caught a little whiff of fresh air.

"Hey Al, do you smell that?"

"What?"

"The air."

"Yeah, where do you think it's coming from?"

"The top duh, really Al. How do you think we can get up there?" I said innocently unsuspecting. When there was no answer I looked at him. He was grinning. "Oh no Al, I can't I'm not good with heights-NO!"

But it was too late, he had scooped me up in his arms, and was already hovering about a foot off the ground.

"Don't worry Matt, we'll be fine! It's fun see!"

He rocketed up about ten feet as I screamed. "ALLLLL"

"Yeah?" he said casually.

"Put me down, put me down, STOP!" I whimpered.

"Oh come on Matt, we're almost there!"

"Ihateyou,ohgod,ihateyou,ohgod!" I began to repeat as he laughed. Suddenly we stopped I had my eyes shut tight.

"Hmm, you think we can fit Matt?" I opened on eye, there was light flooding from a crack about ten feet above us.

"NO AL DON'T" I was almost crying.

"Here goes nothing!" He shot up fast and suddenly we were in freash air. Al Set me down on the earth, where I promptly collapsed.

"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" I yelled at him, still cradling the strange rock in my arms.

Alice was furious. The day had been going nicely, the forest was peaceful for once, the goblins were on holiday and were stopping from pestering the witches. Even her husband was not being as distracting as normal. She was able to go home for lunch, and make her kids a meal. That was where things began to go wrong. The pasta had caught on fire, and though she had put it out, she had to start over from scratch, and the whole house still smelled like smoke.

When she called everyone in, the all grimaced and complained, though the biggest whiner was Francis, and he was older than her for god's sake! The twins were once again absent. Probably off in the forest, as none of their siblings had seen them since breakfast. She had just lectured Alfred this morning about running off in the woods without telling anyone. When he got back, he was going to get an earful, she was sure of that. Then in the middle of the meal, a dragon had burst into the house.

While it was in human form, it still interrupted the meal and was quite rude. He was very large and intimidating. He had violet eyes and blonde hair, he had a big nose, and his mouth was hidden from view by the pink scarf he wore. She had delt with him before of course, he was one of the leader of their race, but that didn't mean she liked him.

"Ivan, what do you want?" She spat.

"They have taken the священная скала !" He said urgently. She noticed his wide shoulder heaving. Twin cries of "THEY WHAT?" and "ILS CE?" rang out as both of the adults leapt to their feet, while the children looked around confusedly.

"Mama, what's happening?" It was Peter, only Six.

"Nothing to worry about love."

"You always say that mum!" Complained Jett, he was just eight.

"Come on Mom!" It was Michelle, she was ten. They were all far too young for this conversation.

"All right mes petite enfants, why don't you go play outside." He began to usher the protesting children out, while Alice began to pace. The rock was one of the most important artifacts in the forests, kept by the dragons. It was said that it was the source of all light in the world.

"Who took it?" She demanded as soon as all the children were out the door.

"We don't know the thief was masked. We shot them down, and they landed somewhere in the forest. We haven't seen any sign of them since." He said. His voice was soft and heavily accented. Still as scary as anything she had ever dealt with.

"Do we 'ave any idea where they might 'ave landed?" Francis said from the door, his blue eyes were serious.

"None." Ivan replied. Alice ran a hand through her hair and sat down. It was at that moment two absolutely fifthly twelve year-olds rushed in the door and right up to her. Well, on did, the other walked more slowlys, cradling a bundle in her hands.

"Mom, mom, you'll never guess what we did!" The boy gasped.

"Alfred, I though I told you not to wander off! And you are interrupting a very important conversation!"

"But mom-"

"Now, now, Alfred, Madeline, I think it would be best if you went outside" Francis interjected. Alfred looked despairingly between them and the stranger in his house and sighed.

"Come on Matt, the _adults_ are having a conversation!" He sulked.

"Now, young man-" Alice began, but Ivan unexpectedly cut her off.

"малышка, what it you are holding?" Madeline looked up shyly as Al stood by her, glaring at the stranger. In answer she unwrapped the bundle and the room was flooded with golden light.

"We found it in a cave." She said softly.

"That what we were trying to tell you!" Exclaimed Alfred. "We wrapped it up to give to you! We made sure it was all covered so we wouldn't get enchanted like last time!" Alice and Francis stood with their mouths wide open as their children held up one of the most sacred rocks in the world, coincidentally the one that had just been lost. Ivan walked forward and crouched before them.

"Дети, you have done me a great service today by finding that rock, you see where I came from, it is very important, and it was lost." He smiled. Madeline smiled back while Al beamed with the stars in his eyes.

"You mean, we're heroes?" He asked. Ivan chuckled at that, a kolkolkol noise that filled the room. The children did not so much as back away, though their parents did.

"I guess you could say that. " He said as he lifted the rock out of Madeline's coat. It left a glowing mark. "If you ever need anything, you go to the mountain of mерлин, and ask for Ivan. I will be happy to repay what you have done for me today. With that he smiled and left. Alfred chased after him, and Madeline fallowed before Alice could so much as say wait.

"Those children will be the death of me" She said to no one in particular.

"Don't worry ma cher, they are brave, just like you." Francis smile, Kissing her. Alice just sighed, allowing a wondering smile to fall on her lips as she watched her filthy children watch in awe as Ivan flew off in his true form. Then she squinted. Were tHOSE SPIDER WEBS!

 **A/N:**

 **Well that took longer than it should have! Thank you to everyone who review, you are the reason this chapter got put up today!**

 **Somethings to know, everyone in the forest had some kind of powers, because they are living in the forest mainly. It has an effect on their life because of magic, kinda like how the rock left a stain on Maddie's jacket. I'm not really sure if said rock will be important in the future, but the cave they found it in and the favor the dragons now owe them definitely will. I will try to upload sooner next time.**

 **Thank you for putting up with the long wait**

 **-MOF**


	3. Chapter 3

The castle was cold. It was winter, and bitter cold. Ludwig shivered as he passed through the tall stone halls. They never used to scare him, but lately…

His father was beginning to scare him. He used to be kinder, happier. But he had started enacting more and more harsh punishments, sometimes executing people for simply wasting his time. Grandpa Rome was the only one could calm his temper. Father never even talked to Ludwig anymore, unless it was to scold him. Once again, the only person who seemed to have any time for the kids of the castle was Grandpa Rome. But there were at least more children now, even though Ludwig couldn't seem to find his place with any of them. There was Lovina and Felicanna, but they were too young to have fun with and girls besides. Not to mention the fact that Lovina hated him. Actually there weren't many people Lovina didn't hate. Ludwig like Feli better. There was Gil, but he hung out with Francis and Antonio most of the time.

Francis was the Prince from a smaller neighboring country. It was aid that his country was the smallest and most pathetic. Recently, there was much inner turmoil within the kingdom as the commoners became more and more poor. The people were once known for the best crafts in all the land, but lately, with harsh taxes and the threat of neighboring countries invading, it had become a dangerous place. There was even talk of rebellion. The royals there had sent Francis so he would get a better education. Really, they had just wanted him out of the way. With the only ruler, the queen, sick, no one could stop them. Francis never seemed to let that stop him, he always seemed composed, and flirted with all maid girls.

Antonio was the son of a local merchant. At first he would only come once and a while, climbing the palace walls to stay visit the other two. No one had minded, as his father was a good friend of Grandpa Rome. Then, his father died in a pirate attack. He and his mother had moved into the palace, but not too long after, his mother had died after becoming sick. Still, he was always smiling. Ludwig never really got why.

Together with Gil, the formed the most catastrophic storm the castle had ever seen. They never seemed to get caught either. Ludwig had been one of the most common recipients of their pranks, but had learned how to dodge their attacks. Now they had the maids to focus on. Ludwig was eternally grateful for that at least. Grandpa Rome had started calling the Bad touch trio, the named had stuck, and now everyone used it.

Gilbert had become more rebellious lately, saying that he wanted to be a knight, and not an heir to the kingdom. Ludwig on the other hand was as straight laced as always. This only made Gil more rebellious. Father was constantly lecturing him, about being better, being more reasonable, and more like Ludwig. This only made Gilbert want to rebel more. It was a vicious cycle, and Ludwig wished that his Father would stop pulling him into it. Gil never seemed to take it off on him, but at the same time, Gil made a point not to be in the same room as him for more than a few minutes. The only times when they would go back to brothers, was when Grandpa Rome read to them.

Once a week they would all gather In Rome's room and cuddle together on his bed. It all started after a thunder storm one night, where all of the children ended up in Rome's room, back when they were all on the same side. It had been only a week after Toni's Mom died, and he had been sleeping in the twin's room. Both he and Feli had been crying, so Lovina had dragged them both to Grandpa Rome. Ludwig still shared a room with Gilbert back then, and had both walked together through the dark hall, terrified of what might jump out. They had met Francis on the way there. He had said that he was only looking for a snack, but Ludwig wasn't sure. They had all ended up in Rome's room. Gilbert was always right next to him, with Feli next to him, while Francis and Toni were on either side of Lovina. When he would fall asleep, Gil would carry him back to bed.

Ludwig was on his way to Rome's room now, but unlike most other times, Gil wasn't walking with him. Ludwig didn't know why, he just hoped Gil wasn't abandoning him for good. He rounded the corner, and ran up to the big doors that belonged to Rome's room. He put his fist up to the door and knocked. Almost immediately it swung open as an overly excited five year old pulled him inside. Even at three years older than she was, Ludwig wasn't able to fight back as Feli pulled him to the bed. They were the only ones there, aside from Rome.

"Where is Gil?" Ludwig asked.

"I don't know, but he'll be here soon. I am worried about sissy though, she said she wasn't coming." Feli sounded sad.

"They'll be here soon." Rome said, as he bounced around the room. He was always carefree.

Sure enough, Gil and his friends soon barged in without knocking. The ten year olds were on the bed in instants. Gil's arm's closed around Ludwig, as he began to tousle Ludwig's perfectly slicked back hair. Ludwig fought, but at the same time was glad.

"Sorry Luddy, some unawesome soldier guys were blocking the west corridor."

"It's fine."

"Soldiers?" Asked Rome.

"Yeah, they said something about wanting to see dad, but people are always going to see him." Gil said.

"They were all dressed as palace soldiers, though" Added Francis.

"Where's Lovi?" Asked Antonio. He was one of the few people Lovina actually tolerated. He always hung around her.

"Back in our room, she said she wasn't coming." Feli frowned. It was strange. She was always very happy.

"I'll go get her!" Toni exclaimed, he was half way to the door when the building rocked. The ground seemed to move under our feet, as if there was an earthquake. Toni tripped as Grandpa Rome shot up. He ran to the door, and was halfway through when Feli called out to him.

"Grandpa!" She was crying. Ludwig was clutching her hand. Rome looked around at all the children on the bed and the floor. They were staring at him scared. He made his way back into the room.

"Come on, let's go find your Father, he will know what happened."

Gil and Francis helped Toni stand, as Ludwig helped Feli down from the bed.

"But what about Sorella?" Feli was tearing up. Rome lifted her into his arms.

"Your sister will be fine, we will find her later. Right now, we have to get out of here." Feli nodded, but didn't look any happier.

They didn't get more than halfway down the hallway, when soldiers came running.

"Sir Romulus, we are here to escort you out of the palace!" One exclaimed.

"What happened?" Rome demanded.

"There was an attack on the King in his court, there are other attackers around the building, we need to get you and the heirs out." The second answered.

"My Granddaughter, she is still in her room, I have to go get her!"

"Sorella's in danger, Grandpa, we have to help her!" Feli exclaimed.

"Sir, we have some of our order going to find the heirs. She will be gotten." The first one said, but the second looked unsure.

"But Grandpa Rome," Antonio protested.

"Please sirs, we can't leave her behind." Rome pleaded. The first soldier seemed about to object when the second one spoke.

"I will go find the little one, she will be fine, you need to get out of here." Rome wavered, looking down at the children.

"Fine, but please, make sure she is safe." He sounded dejected.

"You have my word as a holy knight sir." The knight promised before rushing back down the hallway.

"Please Sir, follow me." The second one said, looking disapprovingly after the retreating form of the other knight.

The walked down the corridor and around the corner and towards the garden exit. It was silent except for their footfalls. Suddenly, the first knight stopped. He drew his sword, and stood with them all crowded around him. They heard the clink of an armored footfall. Then another. A lone soldier rounded the corner, upon seeing them he shouted. Ludwig never knew what, as things happened to fast. Their knight yelled at them to run, then there were was a loud rattling as about ten more soldiers in full armor abounded the corner. Then Ludwig had been picked up by his brother. In front of them was Francis and Tonio, and then Grandpa Rome still carrying Feli. His brother's footsteps jarred him. There were yells and clanking all around them. They rounded a corner, to find another battalion of knight. Those knight charged the other soldiers following them, and yet Rome ran on, a trial of children following him. They went up and down, and then, suddenly they were out, into the night sky, a full moon over head. They were in the servant's garden. Around them frightened servants looked at them. Looking back, Ludwig saw smoke rising from the top of the castle.

There was a sudden clanking. A wounded knight stumbled through the open door. He raised his sword and pointed it at Ludwig crying out, "YOU!" The servants cowered as he began to make his way through them.

"If anyone moves, I'll kill them!" He shouted. His helmet had been knocked off and his eyes were wide and mad as he foamed at the mouth. His black hair was matted and there were flecks of blood on his face, and large stains on his armor He slowly advanced, and then there was a loud clang. The soldier fell to the ground, face down, as a young girl, about Gilbert's age, stood behind him with a raised frying pan. Behind her, stood a shorter brown haired boy.

One week later.

Gilbert stood in the large hall of his father's throne room, along with his new servant friends, and his other Family. Grandpa Rome stood in front of them. Gilbert was looking at the ground. One thing ate at his mind.

Lovina was gone. Long gone. By the time anyone realized that she was no out, and that the knight hadn't carried out his promise, it was far too late. The knight lay slain on the floor. There was blood, so much blood on her bed.

Gilbert had been the first one back in the room. After the traitors had be found and killed, they had been ordered to go back to their rooms, while people searched for Lovina. Feli had started screaming and wouldn't stop, and Toni had fallen to the floor, as if he had been stabbed. The guards had come running, and they were ushered away. A few days later, a hand washed up on the shore of the royal river. It was bearing a ring with Grandpa Rome's crest. She was dead. Toni hadn't spoken at all since the hand. At first, he had been wildly optimistic, saying that she would be fine, with wide eyes. It was like he was crazed. Feli hadn't stopped crying. She kept calling for her twin. It was all his fault.

His father was grilling them on what had happened and why. Meanwhile all around them slaves with bionic arms moved large carts on geared train track. Some here suspended up high rebuilding the left wall. It had been blown away by a gunpowder explosive, what had knocked Tony down that night.

Gilbert couldn't take it anymore. He fell to the floor crying.

"I'm sorry Father, It's all my fault, we saw those soldiers, and we should have reported it!" He sobbed.

"Gilbert, what are you saying?" His father asked calmly. Ever since Lovina had died, he had been colder than ever, diving the slaves to do awful things. Telling his soldiers to mow down whole villages to look for her, the eldest Princess.

"I'm saying your right, I'm ignorant, I'm sorry, I, it, it's all my fault!"

"It's alright Mi Amigo," Tony spoke for the first time. "I should have…" He trailed off.

Eliza, the kitchen girl, looked at them with pity. Rodrick, the smaller boy patted him gingerly on the shoulder.

"If this really is your fault, then you will have to pay, Gilbert." His father said, his blue eyes glinting cruelly.

"Gerhart, that's enough, the boy did nothing." Grandpa interjected angrily.

"If he did nothing, then why did he just admit to something? Gilbert that is enough. If you really cared for the girl, then you would have told me about the soldier. Really, all your life you have been a failure, but this."

" _Gerhart_." Snapped Rome.

"Gilbert, you are no longer the heir to the kingdom. From here on out, you will live your frivolous wishes. You will be a knight of the holy order, and serve us until you par for you sins."

"GERHART, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Exclaimed Romulus.

"Now go, I'll order one of the maids to deliver you belongings. Knight." He gestured to one of his guards, who took Gilbert by the hand and led him out of the room. He heard shouting from the other side of the large hall doors, but it didn't matter. Nothing matter anymore.

 **A/N:**

 **Three words. Worst chapter yet. *face palms***

 **Yeah, well, I screwed with the ages, Gil and Ludwig are in this chapter, eight and thirteen. And this also took place before the previous chapter, by like probably seven years? We will have what happened to Lovi next chapter. Also, it's apparently steam punk now. Welp okay then. Have a great day!**

 **-MOF**


	4. Chapter 4

My earliest memory was waking up in a rough bed in the city. I knew that because the whole place smelled of motor oil and smoke. The walls around me were wooden, as was the bed. This seemed strange, though I didn't know why. All the buildings in the city were mostly made of wood, (the cause of many fires in the industrial district). I don't really remember what happened next as, I was five and had a concussion. It wasn't like my memory was in perfect condition. But I know the stories.

I had been fished out of the river by a smuggling vessel, transporting the new head mage to the city. I was practically dead, but for whatever reason, the mage's daughter, I was worth sparing and used her powers to sustain me until we got to land.

God only knows what she saw in me, a drowned, burned, scared, and crippled young girl. Any sensible person wouldn't have wasted anytime in pushing the body to the bottom. Fortunately for her and the rest of lowlifes of the city, she didn't. I would have asked her why she did it, but by the time I thought to, she was already dead. Her whole family massacred by the next head of the mage guild. I spent six months recovering in a brothel, where I decided that it was time for myself to be six. I choose the day right after winter solstice festival. The prostitutes were greatly amused at this. I was highly offended of course, just like any six year old is when they are laughed at.

At the end of the six months, I was fully healed, and the people at the brothels were beginning to wonder what to do with me. The obvious choice was to put me to work, but the owner of the establishment found the though somewhat repulsive, as did many others. I don't remember much of the woman, but I respected her. She ruled with an iron fist, and always seemed to be watching from afar, sometimes rescuing me from falling down the tall wooden stairs and other dangers. Sometimes though, she would let me fall. I can't say that it wasn't a good teaching method, as from then on, I didn't try to navigate the stairs without helps. The most of my troubles, however, came with my hand. Or lack thereof. It threw off my balance, mostly, and my usefulness without it was limited, as who wanted a crippled girl as an apprentice. So, I stayed in the brothel for another six months, while the girls there continued to put of doing anything with me. They liked having me I think, children make things happier. But by the time I was seven, the owner finally decided she had had enough of me and sent me with a group of thieves to go to the Guild. That is when the real story began.

The thief in charge, a rather deplorable man named chimney, was all too happy to take me to the entrance to the thieves' guild and to the subsequent orphanages, for the right price of course. The owner paid well, and I was shoved, crying as I remember, into the back of his cart as made his way down the low level streets. After about a day of sitting in the cart, the thief parked and told me to get out. WE were in a backstreet, almost filled with trash. In the center, there was a grate that led to the sewer. Chimney lifted it up, and dropped me in, clamoring after me. He was tall and lanky, with think fingers, a thief's body. He flicked on a lamp. It was unlike the ones in the brothel, made by igniting gas in different cylinders, and it lasted longer. He must have paid a fortune. We walked along the narrow ledge next to the filthy water, and he had to stop me from falling in several times. I had the distinct impression that we were head downwards, deep into the earth.

Finally we reached place in the side of the wall where a cage like metal gate led to a passageway off of the main track. The thief pushed it open and led me down a grimy hallway. Unexpectedly, he stopped, opening a metal door that I wouldn't have seen even if I looked for ten years. He opened it with ease, and led me through it into what looked like a different world.

We were in between two market stalls, selling various illegal goods. There were many more in the large cavern he led me through. There were yells from all directions and the crowd was crushing. There was a rundown cobblestone street, likely from before the industrial revolution. The man pulled me along through the crowd. We went down the streets, ad passed through a bottleneck to a different cave. On this side, there were actually buildings, streetlights and all. Chimney and I walked for a few more minutes, before he walked up to a door knocked on it, and left me. I watched him disappear into the crowd, leaving me alone on a doorstep. It soon opened, and I was lead inside by a pretty young woman. I found out soon enough that she was not as kind as she looked. I had been admitted to Gwen's orphanage for future thieves. It was dark, smelly, moldy, and all round unpleasant. But I didn't stay there long.

Right away, I made enemies of most of the other children, and for the entire month that I stayed there, it was all out war. I had the handicap of my missing hand, but I was smarted than a great deal of them. We were left to our own devices most of the time, so there was constant potential for attack. At the end of the month, we were going to be sent to the court of the kingpin to be judged. If the king didn't find the group of children worth saving, he would often have them killed and the orphanage shut down, so the entire group was more on edge than normal. There were constant pranks, and the proprietors fed up less, and yelled at us more. On the day we were supposed to go to the court, I was at odds with a bot named Garret. I don't really remember why I was so mad him but I was. So, as we stood in the gilded hall before a cruel looking man with an eyepatch, the fight began. He threw the first punch, but in the end I won, and looked up to see the horrified faces of the other children and the advisors. Then the man on the iron chair began to laugh. He gestured me up.

"What is your name, child."

"I don't have one." It was a sore spot. Something that the other children had teased me endlessly for.

"Well, then, I will give you one. Later though. I am quite impressed that your learned to fight with one arm, who taught you?"

"No one did, I learned myself." I huffed. The man looked at me, contemplatively.

"How did you get those scars on you face?"

"I don't remember."

"Well then. Charles, bring the thing to my house, I think I like you little girl, don't prove me wrong."

And that, was how I became the next kingpin of the underground universe of the thieves' guild, heir to Remus, the most powerful Kingpin in a long time. He named me Romano, and when I protested that it was a boy's name told me, it was better to not have a gender. He gave me a polished steal mask, to hide my scarred face, and a bionic hand. He taught me to steal, fight, kill, and lead. AS I stood over him now at seventeen, there was no one else in the world whom I liked more.

He lay in his bed, sickly pale and his breath whizzing. His bed was grand, four-poster, stolen right out from under the nose of a rather unsavory noble. He had been sick for months now. I stood over him, as we talked for the last time.

"Are you sure you are ready, Roma?"

"Of course Remus, are you sure you aren't afraid of hell?"

"Every sensible man is. But then again you are a woman." He chuckled. His guards stood in the corner. The room was lit by candles, but it was mostly dark.

"I won't kill you until you are ready, you know." I told him, a hint of a smile on my lips. It was one of the few times I was without my mask. Puberty hadn't done me any favors in looking more like a woman, but that was a favor in and of itself. My gender was a topic of hot debate in the thieving community. My favorite theory was that I had been castrated as a young boy.

"I know, I also know you should have killed me long ago when you got the chance."

"I don't see why."

"You wouldn't. I am ready now, make it quick."

"I would have made it any other was, Remus. Goodbye, and thank you."

"Your welcome. I wish you all the luck I possess." He closed his eyes, his strong brow and nose as regal as ever. I memorized them as I raised the sword.

"I love you, be happy." I whispered under my breath. He smiled. It was a quick blow to the neck, we was dead on impact. I took the ring off his right middle finger and turned to the guards. They bowed to me as I smiled.

"Welcome Romano, king of thieves." The spoke as one. I took a deep breath, and made my first orders in my new life.

"Take him and prepare a funeral." I said. They did so immediately, as I looked at the candles. One had gone out.

 **A/N:**

 **Done. I feel better about this chapter. There are a lot of things I didn't explain in this chapter, but they will be later. Now, the main plot can begin! Thank you for the reviews!**

 **-MOF**


	5. Chapter 5

Everything around me was beautiful. Sunlight steamed dappled through the giant trees. I was sitting in one such tree, probably a hundred feet of the ground. I was cradled next to it's trunk as I watch children playing in a lake far below me. On the far side of the lake, there was a giant waterfall, utterly majestic. The laughing of the children, and the singing of the sirens in the distance. The sunlight on my face, and being comfortably nestled in one of my favorite trees. Yet somehow, I still felt like crap.

Everything seemed to be slowly spinning out of control. It was like watching a landslide in slow motion. I had always liked to think that we were on okay terms with the people who lived outside of the forest. We had always lived in some kind of harmony. Many times, we had sent some of our people out to buy supplies from small villages during especially harsh winters. Many of the fairies went out to help the oppressed of the land, and some of the witches who lived here sold their potions in family markets. Still somewhere along the line, something had gone wrong.

Recently, few people had been able to leave the forests. There were stories of families being captured and burned at stake for being witches. I had friends who had been chased out of towns while stones were being thrown at their backs. Every year we had traders from the north pass through our land, and they would tell tales of the land outside. This time they told us of how the king had gone mad, his eldest son fled to a life of crime. His most trusted advisor and best friend hadn't been seen in years. The younger prince and only remaining princess were rarely seen, and they always looked haunted and sad. Apparently, the king was blaming the forest for all his misfortunes, and was ordering every inch of it torn down. That was the worst part of it. The king and his men would strip whole acres of woods, burning and cutting until there was nothing left. I was in almost constant pain because of this, little aches in my fingers, a scalded tongue. All the trees they destroyed would be back by morning, but it hurt the forest, so it hurt me.

Mother had even sent Peter away, sending him with traders to be safe. She had almost sent me too, but Alfred managed to stop her. Alfred and Mom. Yet more worries. They had always butted heads, but in the last few years… Fourteen was the first real fight they had. Alfred had dragged me out into the wood, and we hadn't come back for days. At fifteen, their fights became a weekly, and sometimes nightly, thing. By sixteen, Alfred had stopped coming to me with problems. He had slowly left me behind for his fairy and nymph friends. We still talked occasionally then. Now, at seventeen, he had moved to a house in the fairy realm. This was the ultimate insult to my mother, who was fae herself. She was always irritable now, and hardly had any time for her children anymore. Papa was our saving grace, steeping up to fill her shoes, but now he and mother were arguing too. More often than not, I would hide out, exploring the forest, for the most part alone. Al and I hardly ever talked, though he seemed jubilant to be away from mother. I wished he wasn't so selfish, so freaking oblivious, so idiotic! I wished he would stop being a brat and listen to mom. More than anything, I wished he was still my best friend. I didn't really know whether or not I was angry, or hurt, or just plain jealous of him. But in the end he didn't really care anymore, and I was far past the point where it bothered me (at least, that's what I told myself)

The Brightside to it all, was I had gotten to know the forest a lot better. I had discovered miles of beautiful things, and I had only just started looking into the cavers at the bottom of the mountains. I had found places filled with crystal, whole gardens of fire flowers, and the biggest tree I had ever seen. The crystal cave was situated in the depths of the eastern caverns. At certain times of the day (which I had written down in the notebooks I had begun to keep) light would filter through into the cave, and the entire room would be a light with rainbows. The fire flowers were in one of the darkest pasts of the forest, just past where the more nasty creatures lurked. But if you managed to get past all the dark elves and giant spiders, you would find clearing where a wonderful old woman lived. She had allowed me to enter her garden (with a fence made entirely of smoky black and purple crystal) to where all kind of vibrant flowers bloomed. There were mostly reds, yellows, and oranges, but there were a few blue and white flowers. Embers floated in the air illuminating the space. All the flowers had different personalities. Some, if you toughed, would burn you, others would warm your hands pleasantly (once again I had written down which was which). Finally the tree. It was gigantic, bigger than a dragon, large than a whale! Its roots fill and entire ravine of space. I had once journeyed down to the bottom, only to find lots of webs, and very big spiders. Very Big. Never again. But the top of the tree was wonderful. I had spent a whole day getting to the top. When I finally reached it, I could see high above the entire forest, off into the distance. Even with my fear of heights, it was still beautiful. I spent another whole day up there, just talking to all the animals and people that lived in it (conversations were recorded in the journals). I never wanted to leave. But at the same time, all things I found made me more depressed. What was the point of discovering something grand if you didn't have someone to share it with? Al would have said that was silly, but I longed to see the wonder I had felt one someone else's face. I had met many people, became friends with many more. Somedays I doubted that anyone in the forest hadn't at least heard of my. I had a dragon friend who I visited regularly, a nymph who was always glad to see me, countless fairies who fallowed me around constantly, but they never really filled the void Al left. In fact my best friend, depressingly enough, was a bear that forgot my name. I had met him in the tree, and then, suddenly, he was everywhere. I didn't mind, but he really couldn't keep up a conversation without asking who I was about five times.

I sighed. From next to me the bear (what was his name again? Kalvin? Kuma?) shifted and said "Bored."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to go for a walk, are you going to come?"

"Who are you?"

"Why do I even bother?" I sat up and climbed down, easily. However, Kuma (?) still beat me down. How on earth did he do that? I had asked him once, and he explained entirely in equations. I hadn't asked again. I had left my books at home today, thinking I wasn't going to be doing any exploring. So I walked freely, not caring anything for once. My arm ached, the outsiders were probably at it again. I wore a short green tunic, brown cloth pants, and a red cloak. Papa had made it for me, saying it would protect me. I never really understood why, but he was the one with foresight.

I wandered through the foliage, not bothering to ask the forest to take me anywhere. It seemed to be shifting all around me, agitatedly, but I paid it no mind. I should have listened to it.

I had just wandered into a clearing when I heard a voice call. Across the clearing, several men in armor sat astride white horses. I took a step back.

"Ho, woman, why do you venture in these cursed woods?" One shouted to me.

"These woods are not cursed. I live here I should know." I said politely, "Is there some place you would like me to guide you to?" I really should have known better, but I just had to be helpful. The men looked at each other, seemingly alarmed. Their leader beckoned me closer.

"You say you live here, we have come to see you leader, do you know where they live?" Mother and Father always taught me to be polite and helpful. In my defense, I hadn't really encountered any human danger before. Nor had I though past the possibility of coming to peace with the outsiders.

"Why yes, they would be my parents. Let me teak you there!" I smiled. Yup, I was an idiot back then. The soldier smiled and thanked me, asking me to come sit behind him on his horse. I walked forward, and suddenly, everything went black. I had been kidnapped by the royal guard of the house Belschmeit.

 **A/N:**

 **Another day, another way to horribly misspell Belschmeit. I am going to stick with this spelling now. I swear. Also Maddie's power in this is basically like being the child of the earth/forest. So like getting horribly sick every time there is an earthquake. (And summoning plant monsters *shifty eyes*)**

 **-MOF**


	6. Chapter 6

Gilbert sat in the corner of the dankest, most filthy pub in the entirety of his kingdom. His red eyes scanned the room, searching out the poor wandering barmaid. He wasn't nearly drunk enough yet. It had been a long day.

Gil had been hired by a shady character, to kill rich nobles on the Upper East Side. He had done it, and covered his tracks pretty well, but had a maid walk in on him. After that, he had people fallowing him around for the rest of the morning looking for the killer. Then he had a run in with Eliza. Pride or not, Gil was utterly in love with her, from her long brown hair, to her bright green eyes. They had been good friends, even after he left the palace. She never really knew what he did, and he intended to keep it that way. Overall, it hadn't been such a bad visit, until he had noticed the ring. It was on her left hand, ring finger. It was a diamond. It was glaring him in the face. She had noticed him staring at it. She glanced down, blushing. The invincible Liz blushed. She and Roddy had been dating for quite a while, but he had always hope. One day, she would see him as more than a friend. They would get their happily ever after, preferable with Rodrick out of the picture entirely. He would be lying if he denied the various one night stands and short term flings (hell, he had even had one with Roddy himself), but none of those really counted. And now, that ring sealed his fate. She started to explain all the different arrangements and dates, Gil had tuned out. Until she said something about best man. She wanted him to be her best man. Gil had then flipped shit and left. He didn't even want to think about the argument they'd had. It was safe to say, he wasn't going to their wedding.

His 'boss' hadn't helped. The reason Gil had left the palace in the first place was so that he would no longer be under someone else's thumb. His father was going insane, his teachers were too tight laced for him to breath, even Franny and Toni had left him. Franny had gone first, being called back to his kingdom when they were fifteen. Then Toni, at sixteen. He had begged Gil to come with him, as he sneaked out in the middle of the night. He said he was going to be a pirate, and hunt down the people who had murdered his father and little Lovi. He never had gotten over that little girl, then again no one really had. Feli smiled less, and Luddy became almost as bad as his teachers, a perfect little soldier. Hell, his Dad had gone mad! He hadn't gone with Toni (biggest mistake of his life), but had instead stayed, training, and handing out with Lizzy and Roddy. But by the time he was eighteen, he had given up. He snuck out like Toni, and never looked back. He had begun his life as a mercenary, and a damn good one, someone that everyone was afraid of. They called him the white knight, and parents used his story to scare their children into bed at night. Eventually, when he was twenty, he was more or less forced to join the mercenary guild, where he was once again ordered around. But it had taken him less than a year to assassinate the head of the guild and take over his place. But now, he was under the thumb of the kingpin. Ah the turntables.

Now, he had to manage all the riff raff that entered his guild, all while fighting with other leaders, while that kingpin watched and smiled. The kingpin was one of life's great mysteries. No one knew what they actually looked like underneath his or her mask. No one knew their gender, or life before they had been picked up by the previous leader, Remus. No one knew how they lost their arm (which had been replaced by a bionic one years ago). All anyone knew, was that since they had taken over, two new guilds had appeared (spy and mage) and most people were more successful than ever. Gilbert was actually on good terms with them, and though they never favored one guild over the others during the meetings, he or she always seemed to like Gilbert. They would talk outside of guild meetings, and sometimes having a drink together. Another thing, the person never seemed to get drunk.

In the end Gil didn't mind his life too much, he was for the most part free to do what he wanted, and he enjoyed playing the crime game. But days like today made him long for back when he was just a child, still playing his brother and friends, and did have to do jobs for hire. At twenty two, Gil was questioning all his life decisions that lead him here. Worst part was he didn't have any answers.

Gilbert waved over the poor severing woman again. She really was ugly, eyepatch (probably too poor to afford a bionic implant), breathing mask dented and wide hips. She poured him another glass of strong brew as Gil continued to gaze blankly around the room. Dimly, he noticed the door swinging open. He hear the footsteps of the newcomer, as he stared back down into his drink.

Suddenly, a fist pounded down on the table, and looked up to find a handsome blue eyed, blonde haired boy staring at him.

"Are you The White Knight, Gilbert Bell?" He asked urgently, eyes flashing, they were beautiful eyes, and the spark in them should have told Gil what he was getting into.

"Yeah, that's me, what do you want shrimp?"

"I need your help." **A/NHey. What's up? Thank you for all of the reviews, I really appreciate it. This chapter is a bit short compared to the others, I'm sorry 'bout that. There may or may not be another update to day. Well see.-MOF**


End file.
